According to the study recently conducted in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa by Ipsos, a global market research company, on behalf of PayPal, it has been discovered that 89% of Nigerian internet users shop online or expect to do so in the future, compared to 70% of South Africans and 60% of Kenyans. Out of the approximately 50 million internet users in Nigeria, 65% of users already shop online and another 24% of users expect to do so in the future.

Of the online shoppers surveyed, security of online payments and delivery costs are among main concerns preventing consumers from conducting more online shopping. 53% of Nigerians who have shopped online in the past said faster delivery of goods would encourage them to shop online more often, 40% indicated that safer ways to pay was a key driver, and 31% indicated lower product costs as a driver to do more shopping online.

31% of those who have not shopped online give concerns about security of payments as a reason for not currently shopping online, and 27% say that the cost of delivery is a reason for not currently shopping online.

Cash on delivery is still the most preferred means of payment when shopping online, with 39% of online shoppers using cash and 32% indicating it is a preferred payment method for online purchases.

“Online security matters. This is why PayPal provides a simpler, easier and more secure way to shop and pay on millions of websites around the world,” says Efi Dahan, Regional Director for Africa and Israel at PayPal. “The fact that PayPal does not share financial information with the seller when authorizing a transaction keeps the consumers’ financial details more secure.”

The research also shows the overwhelming usage of mobile phones in online shopping. 90% of online shoppers that own a smartphone or a feature phone have used it to shop online while 51% use their device to shop online once a month or more.

Shopping on mobile browsers seems to be the most popular way to do mobile shopping with 43% of Nigerian mobile shoppers stating a preference to shop using the phone’s browser, compared to 34% who prefer to shop from an app (and 23% who have no preference).

However, some barriers remain for mobile shopping. Security of payments was flagged as a concern to Nigerians with 30% of mobile shoppers saying security of online purchases from a mobile device is a reason for not shopping online using a mobile phone more often, while 30% also flagged concerns about internet usage costs on mobile as a barrier to mobile shopping.

Going by this, Nigeria is clearly a significant e-commerce country leading in the amount of existing online shoppers, compared to other countries surveyed. But means have to be devised to remove the barriers preventing potential consumers from shopping online.

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